Rotten Petals
by ZePeaWithZeGoggles
Summary: Plants were made to fight, at least that was what they thought they were created for. When they had defeated their adversaries, they found a new army to rip through... Themselves.
1. The Undead

I never tend to look at things with an open mind. That was how I was raised, that was how I went through in life. I never saw the Zombies as a ally, or a friend, or misunderstood... How could any of us, any of _them_ think that those brainless brats could be docile, peaceful, even kind?

We've spent two generations fighting against an army that rose from our creators, they are the byproducts of an experiment, we are the result of an experiment. That I knew. Though I never truly understood why those two imbeciles created us. Humanity was fine, weren't they? They weren't in any famine, they weren't suffering. Was it just the curiosity of two scientists that caused this? Or was there a deeper meaning? Did all of us suffer for a reason?

I was told they were insolent, ruthless, amoral. The Plants around me, Plants I knew, Plants I cared about died at the undead hands of the Zombie army, eventually I decided, what was the point in making friends? What was the point of struggling onward? I mused that to myself everyday, I still do.

We would all die eventually anyway.

I was called fatalistic, pessimistic, that I had no hope that we would win. But, to be honest, I believed we could win. I just didn't want myself to gain false hope, I just didn't want to be let down again.

I had a four-Plant team, surprise surprise. Me, a Power Flower, a Cactus and a Fire Chomper. I depended on them, they depended on me... for a while at least.

As the war prolonged, our friendship, our trust in each other, dwindled. All four of us wanted a different way to survive, we just weren't compatible.

The Fire Chomper was the first to leave, he was short tempered, a disaster waiting to happen, as all Chompers are. He scoffed at us, he huffed furiously at us, and he soon left. I never heard of him again, although a few years later I was told that a wounded Fire Chomper was found at a underground Zombie base, he succumbed to his pain days later at the L.E.A.F. Headquarters' Infirmary.

"It was irrevocable," the Cactus had told the rest of us, her face nonchalant, she didn't at all looked affected by the fact that her teammate has just passed. "He couldn't have survived on his own... We should've have stopped him from leaving."

The Power Flower mourned for weeks. She loved that Chomper, it was obvious even in our young days of teamwork, it was unfortunate that she never got to tell him. I remember her being optimistic, almost the opposite of me, _almost_. After his death though, she never smiled again, she never laughed again. I nearly felt bad, but I never comforted her.

She passed just a few days after our very last mission, ZPG to the head, we couldn't revive her in time. She was one of the lucky ones, being able to be buried. Too many die everyday, almost too many to count, not a lot of Plants are able to have a proper burial. Perhaps the remains of her have grown into a tree.

Once the Power Flower was gone, the Cactus was the only one left, the only one left that I cared about. Her face was weary, exhausted from just about everything. She shuffled along as we dragged ourselves to L.E.A.F. Headquarters, we needed a break, a long one at that.

Her face was wrinkled, but not from old age. It was an expression of solemn she always had, with a dash of wry. As much as I could explain her appearance, I never could see through her, crack her code. It was almost like there was a field that was blocking her thoughts from me. I could say that I was always attentive, a bit more alert than most Plants were, but the Cactus always baffled me, yet interested me. Keep a eye on her, I mused as I gave myself a mental note.

She was intelligent, sometimes she'd rebuke at me, sometimes she'd chastised me. Crinkles would form when she smiled, she was never indignant, and somehow never poignant. She performed well, never stagnating. Mirth danced around her lips when she made a joke, which was rare. She was... Different from most Plants. Before I knew it, I fell for her, and she fell for me, eventually at least.

... I'm getting off track.

I had been my way back from a stand-alone mission when I was messaged by L.E.A.F. to come to the Headquarters immediately. The Zombies had invaded L.E.A.F Headquarters, somehow being able to find its location. The entirety of the Zombie army attacked, with the dreaded, delinquent leader of them marching his monstrous machine on our quarters. We had to act quickly, or we would loose everything in only a few hours.

The Plants present at L.E.A.F attacked the invading Zombie army, while some were left to call for reinforcements. The Plants somehow managed to hold off the undead army when the Plant reinforcements came, our headquarters was unfortunately badly damaged, destroyed almost completely by the Zombot. So much debris, I watched as both Plants and Zombies were injured, even killed by the incoming flying remains of the once great base, some were squashed, some were bravely able to persist fighting after getting injured from them. I would call myself lucky to be able to dodge all of them.

After hours of persistent fighting, my roots begged my brain to stop and take a rest, but I emboldened my body to push myself to the absolute limits. I did not allow myself to slow, I did not allow myself to stop shooting, I would not allow myself to give up on this planet again.

I soon heard the abrupt noise of the Zombot falling into the ground, I turned my head cautiously to look at it, panting heavily from fighting multiple Imp Mechs at once. My aching eyes gazed upon the giant machinery. I watched from a hilltop as the remaining Plants gathered around the bucket of bolts, I watched as Dr Edgar George Zomboss was forcefully taken out from the control panel on the top of the darn machine's head, handcuffed.

All of the Plants were jubilant, blissful cheers could be heard from kilometres away, some had an embracing hug, some kissed, some just smiled at each other. I sighed in relief in my little lone corner. My torn body covered and littered in the wounds and lacerations of the past, I was content that they would all turn to long forgotten scars... And not be reopened every week.

Nearly five decades of constant fighting had finally paid off. So many lives of both sides have been lost, and we have beaten our adversary. L.E.A.F. Headquarters was crucially damaged but would recover fast with the help of foreign allies, our long deserving rest has finally come. We have won the war.

 _However_ ,

Us Plants were created to fight and destroy, I suppose.

 **A/N. This is a two part story, acting as the prologue to a comic I will be making. I do hope you enjoyed this rather short chapter!**


	2. Spy

"Why do you wish to join our cause?"

That glare, _oh_ the ever so menacing glare that came with agent peas. Their leafy hair and their glare, a full package. The agent had the appearance of a veteran, those stone-cold eyes that would survey among the inexperienced, either taunting them or emboldening them.

The cobalt fire peashooter leered at the shorter yet wiser agent before him, his gaze slightly shifty, his breath hinged as the flames of his head sizzled and danced in the winter snow. He lightly glanced at his pods, he had been holding a notice. For quite some time he had taken care of this precious piece of paper. It was his only hope, after all.

"Here is my reason." The fire pea rasped out, taking his attention towards the agent counterpart, his voice deep for a flaming peashooter. He had been waiting for a couple of months now, if he were to remain in standby for a little more than a week... It was certainly possible he wouldn't survive any while longer.

The agent gingerly snatched the paper from the fire pea's pods, his eyes scanned through it in a matter of seconds. The taller flaming plant solemnly and somewhat awkwardly stood there in the cold, waiting for a response. _"Was it always like this?"_

"You're in," The agent peashooter had said after a minute of musing and contemplation, his head cranking up to meet with the flaming peashooter's gaze. "Floor 3, room 11. One of the few we have left. It seems you carry a strand of luck." The shorter peashooter stepped aside slowly, allowing the Fire Pea to walk inside the steel doors that were keeping him from the outside. Finally, out of the cold.

The fire pea wearily made his way inside, almost immediately the freezing temperatures of the outside were replaced by the welcoming warmth. Silently he took off his makeshift scarf, letting it drop on the metal floor.

He had sensed the apprehension and wariness of the agent pea. It was inevitable that he would be constantly watched and monitored by the leader, or leaders. He heaved out a heavy sigh as his roots gently tapped on the floor, the cries of steel clanked against each other with the rhythm of his stride.

The base that was to be his abode wasn't as neatly kept as he expected, or as posh as he believed. It was much modest compared to the headquarters that once stood proudly only two and a half years ago. His yellow eyes scanned his surroundings as he walked through the metal lane that led to the elevator. _"Disappointing."_

"This place was made through the remains of L.E.A.F," He mused to himself, looking down at his roots as he walked. "It's pitiful... At least in comparison to L.E.A.F."

He struggled to look away when other plants walked or ran past him. He didn't expect this many. _"Their business isn't yours. Nor is yours to them."_ His thoughts raced through his mind, he had a peculiar habit of staring. _"They don't know you. They don't recognise you at all. Quit it with your impolite staring."_

An uneasy feeling crawled up his spine.

He quietly stepped in and pushed in the button, the elevator roared as it soared up to the upper floors. His pods were shaking now, his heart skipping a beat as his breath worsened. His uneasiness grew into discomfort. He could not pinpoint why this was happening. It was just him and the melody of the peaceful elevator music. _"Calm down, nothing is happening. You're not next to someone, you're not talking to anyone."_

It felt like an entire lifetime until the satisfying ding of the elevator had rung, up to that point the fire peashooter had already been shaking tremendously, his breathing skyrocketing to abnormal. He painstakingly walked out as he attempted to regain his composure. "Alright, now at my destination... Just a few minutes until I can heal my tired roots."

He sped up just a bit, he absolutely did not want to embarrass himself in front of anyone. His flaming pods traced the number plates next to the dormitory doors, eventually spotting his. _"311, finally."_

Steeling himself he silently grabbed the doorknob, just in case anyone was resting for the night. If he had any roommates, it would be good to leave a nice first impression.

At least before the inevitable downward spiral that would struck him down.

His mind churned like the field of a competitive racing track, the cars as his thoughts, and the finish line as what could happen throughout his time here. His curiosity was on first place, with dread right behind.

With his unnecessary caution the fire pea hesitantly opened the door after a full minute of apprehensive thoughts, the carved wood's creaks were agonisingly loud, it wouldn't surprised him too much if the aggravating noises could be heard from upstairs. _"Day one of this blue fire pea's new life, let's see if we can fix the broken pieces."_

 _"Oh...?"_

His yellow orbs quickly took noticed of the two bunk beds, the table in-between and a plant that laid comfortably on the lower bed to the left, who from his prospective seemingly looked to be sleeping. The single square window that dimly lit the room was opened, letting in the cool snowy air from the outside. Why the snoozing plant would open the window during a night like this was beyond him.

Only what seemed to be a old journal and a pen was set on the lone table, the moonlight's rays made it looked as if the torn book was legendary, like a video game he had played in his young juvenile years, though obvious to him was that the journal hadn't been written on for a couple of days... Perhaps not much has really happened.

"Quit it."

The fire pea's heart skipped a beat as he stumbled backward, getting caught off guard. He didn't suspect anyone to be awake this late into the night, not at all. _"Remember to stay calm, don't say anything, you'll just make it worse."_

He looked at the source of the abrupt noise, his eyes squinting in the night as he noticed the plant that he had previously thought was sleeping was now wide awake, their own eyes staring back at him, solemn yet... Curious. _"Perhaps he has been awake the entire time."_

The plant stood up from their untidy bed to meet the fire pea's gaze, and to the flaming peashooter's realisation the plant had turned out to be a peashooter around his age, their height easily towering his. If they were any taller he would had found them intimidating.

Their body was worn torn, beaten up by the many clashes that they had fought, their head down to their roots were littered with scars and lacerations, some appeared to be fresh, as if they had battled to the death with their adversary just yesterday. Their posture was slouched, and the expression on their face was that of a frown, the fire pea was not sure what to think of them.

"Pete Lathyrus."

That was the only thing that they said before leaving the room, their expression seeming to be pained, as if they felt a sudden twinge in their stomach. Not another word could be heard from their circular mouth as they walked down the hallway, eventually disappearing. _"Strange."_

The little cobalt fire pea just stood there by himself, stunned and confused. He had expected more of a conversation that he would have had to suffer through, an exchange he didn't want to participate in, yet the peashooter didn't seem to be much of a talker either. Perhaps they could tell he wasn't in the mood for small talk, but why did they leave just like that? He had all the time in the world to ponder.

Nonchalant. That was the word he would describe this peashooter character from what he had seen of them so far. Their body was covered in the wounds of their past, from their sleepless eyes he could almost tell what horror they had gone through, yet they were just so... Nonchalant. A nice little word to describe someone, nonchalant.

But yet that name... Lathyrus, he couldn't figure it out. It gave him a sense of familiarity, it rung the bell. It reminded him of the courageous knights spoken of in the tales of old, or maybe he had a family member with the name?

He soon realised that he had been standing the entire time.

* * *

A large crowd had been gathering in a small area since this morning, waiting for the leader of their refuge to come out of his office. The fire pea had begun to notice and hear the murmurs and loud strides of the conversing plants outside his room. A gathering, perhaps? Or maybe a public announcement? He looked to the right of his bed, no "Pete Lathyrus", he had not seen the towering scarred plant since the day he came here... Where were they?

He quickly followed behind the crowd of talking plants, remaining as silent as he could to be invisible towards his peers, his thoughts lingered on the peashooter, could they be in the gathering right now? Most likely, he'd guess.

He skipped to a halt when the plants in front of him stopped their march, their murmurs no longer. From what he could see the entire base was there to watch this important event, his curiosity rose just slightly. They were in a wide room, big enough to fit in about the population of small city. It's walls made of reinforced steel, the dull room would have been sterile if the plants weren't here. The only way to get in and out was from the hallway the plants had come from, and another hallway that led to who knows where.

"Welcome, friends."

What was left of the gossip was completely gone, it was dead silent, sending a bit of a shiver down the fire pea's spine. He did not expect this.

From the hallway the plants did not come through walked a peashooter, not too tall not too short. Half of their head was no longer organic, replaced by reprogrammed robotic parts, most likely from the remains of the Z mechs the plant army had destroyed over the decade. Their posture screamed authority, their everlasting glare was a warning to anyone who would go against them. Their mechanical crimson red eye seem to scoff at the broken army before him.

"You all have come here through the spreading of gossip, what do you think we'll be doing here on this fine day?" _"Looks like he went straight to the point."_ the fire pea mused to himself, his thoughts coated with sarcasm. The peashooter leader's eyes surveyed over the plants like a hunting hawk, nothing could get past him, if anyone would dare to try.

Whispers arose from his questions, the speculations were disinteresting to fire pea however, they'd know in two or three minutes anyway.

A minute had past when the peashooter cleared his throat, silencing the room and its echoes. The fire pea swore he could see a smirk on the leader's expression.

He had decided to not put his trust on the peashooter's shoulders.

The cyborg peashooter paced around the open space of the room, his army's eyes all on him. "Today we are going to show you something... Interesting, today." The peashooter explained as he looked behind him to the hallway he had come from, signalling something the fire pea couldn't recognise.

The crowd of five hundred plants watched with interest as two agent peas appeared, both rushing out of the hallway, their pods tightly gripping two intertwined chains that connected to... Something.

Hostile growls and bloodcurdling roars. That was the first thing that they all heard when that... Abomination, was showcased to them.

It was shuffled along forcefully by the two agent peas, the chains tightly held onto the mutated beast's neck. Aghast wasn't enough to describe what the fire pea had felt when he first laid his eyes upon on it.

It looked like a sunflower at first glance, _at first glance_. Its petals were pale, shredded and dirty. It's stem was ragged, sharpened with thorns, so different from the stereotypical bubbly sunflower. Its face... God, its face.

There wasn't one.

The usual grin of the everyday sunflower was completely gone, replaced by a terrifying mouth covering its entire face, multiple jaws decorated its orifice, with a flexible, bloody lizard-like tongue to top it all off. The room filled with an entire army was silent for a whole minute, slowly taking it all in.

"This," The peashooter exclaimed, catching the plant army off guard from their gawking, but quickly regaining their attention towards their leader. "You can all tell who this plant once was, hmm?" Waves of nods followed, some muttering yes. _"That poor sunflower_."

The peashooter was silent for a moment, his face morphing into a frown and eventually, anger. "Do you know who did this? Fellow plants? Do you all know?" The peashooter was experienced at concealing his temper, but his expression could tell it all. "Well, do you?"

Most exchanged unsure glances, some knew exactly what their leader was saying. The fire pea sighed, his uncertainty grew to concern, did he make the right choice to join this crude place?

"Those amoral, malicious undead corpses did this to our sunflower friend. Our comrade. Our amigo as some would say." The peashooter's anger rose as he continued, his pods clenched as he stared down at the mutated sunflower, its hisses could have be heard from the opposite end of the base.

"We have done everything we could to bring them back from this... Condition, nothing had worked. Though we eventually came to discover that the zombies genetically modified this poor creature to be like this, to be this... Omnivorous eater. They have lived its entire life suffering like this every single day. Imagine how painful it would be, living the life without a face, living the life without emotions, living the life without free will." And some plants in the crowd did knew, at least a part of what the peashooter said, that was why they were here for, that was what they wanted to fight against. Their heads laid low as they reminisced their tragic pasts.

"They will keep doing these heinous atrocities if we let them, they will keep doing this to our fellow plants if we let those group of traitors stop us! WE WILL NOT. LET. THE. CONCORDE. WIN!"

Yells, jaunts and cheers from the varying plants were heard from his little speech, some loud, some more quiet. All the same. The fire pea however, remained as silent as he always was. He could tell by their misguided determined expressions that they were ready for a war from just looking at the mutated sunflower. _"It seems history does repeat itself. Natural selection at its finest, Mother Nature knows best after all."_

The fire pea sighed regretfully, his eyes strained, his shoulders slouched and his expression glued with disappointment and apprehension. It was definitely a mistake as it came out clear to him. As much as he resented the zombies, he didn't wish that he needed to annihilate half of his own species to annihilate another. It wasn't up to his morals, if he had any to begin with.

The cyborg leader closed his eyes and took in a few deeps breaths, not wanting to loose the temptation to shout out despicable insults about the Concorde. Looking down at the mutated drooling plant he yet again continued. "But if we are to win in this war against those vile traitors and the undead, we must strategise. And that's why you are all here today."

Now that, that was what interested him. His eyebrow was raised as he listened to the rambling leader attentively. _"Get to the point peashooter."_ He didn't notice that he had be slouching for the entire public meeting. He could hear two nearby plants whispering to each other, but he wasn't one for eavesdropping.

"I, we, are looking for a capable plant, either it be sunflower, peashooter or chomper, to work as a spy for us." Collective gasps were heard from the army once their leader had finished, the peashooter stood firmly in the midst of the surprise, he eyes searched for a worthy candidate among the plants.

The fire pea watched in silence... Until the leader of this army, the leader of this group of plants who are keen on killing their own, looked right at him, dead in the eyes, peashooter leader to a beaten up fire pea who went through enough just to get here.

He gulped nervously, his breath staggering at the thought of being chosen. He wiped the sweat of his brow. He did not want to be picked, there was hundreds of other plants, he couldn't be picked, he can not be-

"You, at the back, the cobalt fire pea." The leader had spoken, the many eyes of his army were on him. The fire peashooter felt the immediate pressure weighing on his back. He tried to stop himself from hyperventilating, but it was proving to be futile.

"Come here." The cyborg peashooter beckoned, his robotic eye glaring down at the fire pea as he walked toward him like a dagger. The taller plant couldn't feel anymore uncomfortable, he could hear the mutters from the army, the looks he was getting from them.

The peashooter placed a pod on his shoulder once the fire peashooter had gone down to his side, a welcoming smile on his features that felt fake to to him. "Here we have a cobalt fire pea, not something you see often, eh?" The leader had jokingly said, a couple chuckles were formed in reply after his own little laugh.

The blue plant had no idea what to say, no idea how to even react. The huddled army were all watching him, their judging eyes looked down upon him, making him feel negligibly small. His pessimism started to get the best of him as he looked down at his pods.

The grip that the peashooter had on the fire pea suddenly tightened, bringing him back into reality from his thoughts. He hesitantly gave his leader a sheepish smile, trying to act as if he didn't zone out. His forced smile dropped when he noticed the peashooter's own welcoming one was gone without a trace, replaced with a restrained glare that pierced through the fire pea's soul, his one organic eye flashed with fierce hate.

"I know who you are, Sativum."

The fire pea's face paled, the flames on his head and around his body lit a lighter blue compared to his usual navy. He wasn't sure how many times his breath was caught in his throat since he has came here.

The peashooter's intimidating glare deepened, his eyes scrupulously studying the fire pea, he somehow managed to maintain his calm and cool posture. "I will give you one chance, get Intel from the Concorde and I won't kill you on the spot. You have three months. If you succeed, you will keep being our spy until the remainder of your days. Capiche?"

The Sativum-blood fire pea could only nod, what has he gotten himself into?

The warm smile returned to the peashooter when he looked back at his army. He feigned his cheerfulness well, but the fire peashooter could see through it now. Every smile, every compliment that have come from that peashooter's circled-mouth, was never, ever genuine. His view of this place suddenly became a whole lot more bleak, the world around him collapsed a little more. They were under the rule of a lie.

"He has agreed to our plight, dear friends! With us, the Rally, united, we will win!" The leader guffawed with that pseudo smile, his posture of a dictator as his attention was on his army of oblivious plants. Their cheers danced with bliss, for they had thought they were one step closer to victory. A waltz with propaganda. The Rally, a name to be wary of.

Reliance and presentiment weighed heavy on the fire pea's shoulders.

* * *

Out into the cold just a week later, great.

The fire pea dug his face into his magenta scarf, its newly washed rosy smell washed over his scent. He trudged his way through the snow, leaving root shaped prints in his wake, only to be covered in yet another layer of frost. Other plants would eventually walk through its perimeters once more, and the cycle repeats, and repeats, and repeats. _"Sunflowers sure do know how to wash."_

He wasn't sure how long he had been outside traveling through the cold, he wasn't sure how long it would exactly take until he would reach the Concorde's base. The leader was vague in his instructions, and the fire pea made sure to remain quiet and not to ask any questions. He was already on his hit list.

He looked down at the journal that he had hesitantly decided to take a few minutes after "Pete Lathyrus" left, his curiosity and suspicions had gotten the best of him when the tall peashooter left. He opened the little book just slightly, he had already been keeping it for days now, yet he have not done a single peek. Perhaps now that he was alone and was going to be alone for a while, he might as well do it. He took notice of the folded note that rested between two empty pages, his curiosity was yet again caught, putting the journal away in his travel bag, he unfolded it.

 _"You have made a grave mistake coming here Unince Sativum. You could've gone to the Concorde, yet you chose here. Was it your only choice or were you just foolish? How ever it may be, you now have a bargain for your head. My name is irrelevant, but I briefly may have told you. Run, run Sativum, before he kills you. This dysfunctional world just may depend on it."_

And so he ran.


End file.
